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Passages relating to creation occur in the Qur’an is different places, such as: “Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves, and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and that fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are signs for those who are wise” (45:3-5).

Big Bang?

The Qur’an says that “the heavens and the earth were joined together as one unit, before We clove them asunder” (21:30). Following this big explosion, Allah “turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke. He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come together, willingly or unwillingly.‘ They said: ‘We come (together) in willing obedience'” (41:11). Thus the elements and what was to become the planets and stars began to cool, come together, and form into shape, following the natural laws that Allah established in the universe.

The Qur’an further states that Allah created the sun, the moon, and the planets, each with their own individual courses or orbits. “It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course” (21:33).

Expansion of Universe

“The heavens, We have built them with power. And verily, We are expanding it” (51:47). There has been some historical debate among Muslim scholars about the precise meaning of this verse, since knowledge of the universe’s expansion was only recently discovered.

Six Days?

The Qur’an states that “Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days” (7:54). While on the surface this might seem similar to the account related in the Bible, there are some important distinctions.

The verses that mention “six days” use the Arabic word “youm” (day). This word appears several other times in the Qur’an, each denoting a different measurement of time. In one case, the measure of a day is equated with 50,000 years (70:4), whereas another verse states that “a day in the sight of your Lord is like 1,000 years of your reckoning” (22:47). The word “youm” is thus understood, within the Qur’an, to be a long period of time –– an era or eon. Therefore, Muslims interpret the description of a “six day” creation as six distinct periods or eons. The length of these periods is not precisely defined, nor are the specific developments that took place during each period.

After completing the Creation, the Qur’an describes that Allah “settled Himself upon the Throne” (57:4) to oversee His work. A distinct point is made to counter the Biblical idea of a day of rest: “We created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us” (50:38).

Allah is never “done” with His work, because the process of creation is ongoing. Each new child who is born, every seed that sprouts into a sapling, every new species that appears on earth, is part of the ongoing process of Allah’s creation. “He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne. He knows what enters within the heart of the earth, and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven, and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do” (57:4).

The Qur’anic account of creation is in line with modern scientific thought about the development of the universe and life on earth. Muslims acknowledge that life developed over a long period of time, but see Allah’s power behind it all. Descriptions of creation in the Qur’an are set in context to remind the readers of Allah’s majesty and wisdom. “What is the matter with you, that you are not conscious of Allah’s majesty, seeing that it is He Who has created you in diverse stages? See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, and made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (glorious) lamp? And Allah has produced you from the earth, growing (gradually)” (71:13-17).

Life Came From Water

The Qur’an describes that Allah “made from water every living thing” (21:30). Another verse describes how “Allah has created every animal from water. Of them are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on two legs, and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills, for truly Allah has power over all things” (24:45). These verses support the scientific theory that life began in the Earth’s oceans.   

Genesis 1

¹¹ And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  

¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

²¹ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Creation of Adam & Eve

While Islam recognizes the general idea of the development of life in stages, over a period of time, human beings are considered as a special act of creation. Islam teaches that human beings are a unique life form that was created by Allah in a special way, with unique gifts and abilities unlike any other: a soul and conscience, knowledge, and free will. In short, Muslims do not believe that human beings randomly evolved from apes. The life of human beings began with the creation of two people, a male and a female named Adam and Hawwa (Eve).

The Qur’an describes how Allah created Adam: “We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape…” (15:26). And, “He began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid” (32:7-8). Thus, human beings have a fundamental attachment to the earth.

Genesis 2.7

Hebrew: the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Greek: And God formed dust from the earth into a man and he blew into his face a breath of life, and the man became a living soul.

While the creation of Eve is not described in detail, the Qur’an does make it clear that a “mate” was created with Adam, from the same nature and soul. “It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her in love” (7:189). She is not mentioned by name in the Qur’an, but in Islamic tradition she is known as “Hawwa” (Eve).

From these two individuals, generations of human beings have inhabited the earth. “Oh humankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored among you in the sight of Allah is the who is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)” (49:13).

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Excerpted and adapted from: Creation of the Universe

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The Koran vs Genesis

by David Catchpoole

‘My name is Muhammad’, the young man said to a fellow student at university in Australia. ‘Muhammad?’, she replied, ‘Where have I heard that name before?’

After he, a Muslim, explained that Muhammad¹ is the name of the ‘Great Prophet’ of Islam, the young lady, raised in a church-going family, asked about the differences between Islam and Christianity.

That evening, the Australian-born student told her father of the encounter, and asked, ‘Dad, I’ve been thinking … our bodies are unclean! Why would God, who is pure, sully himself by coming down to Earth in human form?’

After her father failed to give a reasoned answer, she turned her back on the church, converted to Islam and later married a Muslim.³

Such a question requires only a basic understanding of the Atonement to answer. Salvation required a sacrificial ‘last Adam’ (1 Cor. 15:45) to shed His blood in death, one who was a physical descendant of the first, yet sinless. This could be fulfilled only through God incarnate, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:12, 22). Notice, though, how all this is built upon the foundational Genesis truths of the first Adam bringing in sin and death, and the first shedding of blood as a covering for sin (Genesis 3:21). The increasing confusion caused in the church by long-age compromises (which, by putting suffering, death and bloodshed before Adam, undermine these truths) is a major reason why so many today cannot give reasoned answers to basic Gospel-related questions (contravening1 Peter 3:15). This leaves young people in the church vulnerable to being tossed by winds of false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14).

Following September 11, 2001, the increased prominence of Islam in the media, and public declarations by government (and many church) leaders that Islam is a ‘great’ religion, will likely raise further questions in the minds of many young people in the churches. E.g. ‘Do Jews, Christians and Muslims worship the same God?’ and ‘What does the Koran say about the Bible?’

Many Christian commentators have sought to raise awareness of fundamental doctrinal differences between the Koran and the Bible (see below), but few people are aware of how the Muslim’s holy book starkly contradicts the Biblical account of our origins.

Creation, The Fall, Flood and Babel

The many contradictions highlighted in these tables surely demolish any claims that the ‘revelation’ given to Muhammad is not a corruption of, but reliably builds upon, Judeo-Christian history.

For instance, the Koranic account prohibits Adam from going anywhere near the Forbidden Tree, while Genesis says that God only commanded Adam not to eat its fruit (see Table 2). (Man had been placed in the garden to tend it (Genesis 2:15), which seems to require physical access to each tree for e.g. pruning.)Interestingly, the Bible relates that Eve, who was deceived (1 Timothy 2:14), had misconstrued God’s instruction to not eat of the fruit from the tree to instead also mean not to touch it (Genesis 3:3). Yet Eve’s distorted view, obviously wrong, is portrayed as truth in the Koran [update: see Did Eve lie before the Fall?—Ed.].

The Biblical account of origins also makes more sense of today’s world than does the Koran—e.g. the presence of sin, violence, death and the origin of languages (and concomitant minor ‘racial’ differences). The Bible explains why the whole creation is so obviously groaning, in bondage to decay (Romans 8:19–22). In contrast, the Koran makes God responsible for death and suffering (see Tables 1 and 2), in common with long-age and evolutionary Christian views, and Eastern religions.

The Koran and evolution

With the increased adoption of evolution-based curricula, some Muslim leaders and scholars began to recognize the threat to Islam from a rising tide of evolutionary thinking. Their response has been either to attack evolution, or, more commonly, to blend it with Islam.

1. The Islamic creationists

The creationist Muslims claim that ‘The theory [of evolution] and the holy Qur’an are in direct conflict with each other and no compatibility is possible anywhere.’⁴ New Scientist reported that Islamic creationist books cite and copy Christian creationists, but with Biblical references deleted.⁵

2. The Islamic evolutionists

Evolution-believing Muslims seem to be far more numerous, and vocal, than creationist Muslims.

They have a substantial strategic advantage precisely because the Koran is so vague, nebulous and seemingly open to various interpretations.⁶ They delight in pointing out that, in contrast, ‘There is absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever in the Biblical description of the Creation in six days followed by a day of rest, the sabbath, analogous with the days of the week.’⁷ These evolution-accommodating Muslims are adamant that the ‘days’ of Creation in the Koran ‘mean in reality “very long Periods, or Ages, or Aeons”?’.⁷

Muslim apologists gleefully point out that the Koran is compatible with evolution where the Bible is not, e.g.: ‘Neither here nor anywhere else in the Holy Qur-án is it affirmed that Adam was the first man, or that there was no creation by God before Adam, nor that Adam lived or man was created, or the earth made, only six thousand years ago.’^8,9 Long-age Muslims exploit the Bible’s explicit detail of the Flood, too. They say that because the Bible clearly says there was a recent global Flood, while ‘science’ says there was not, the Bible is wrong and the Koran is thus confirmed to be right!¹⁰ Some of the Muslim literature even claims that the Koran shows that Allah revealed to Muhammad details about the ‘big bang’, ancient universe and evolution long before scientists began to ‘discover’ such ‘facts’.¹¹

Christian awareness

In the same way that being aware of evolutionary challenges to our faith helps us to be ready with answers,¹² so, too, we need to be aware of what religions, including Islam, actually say, in order to be better prepared to answer our children’s questions.¹³ When men teach things that are contrary to the Bible, we are commanded to actively oppose such ideas (2 Corinthians 10:5). Christians need to be ready to help guide young people through the kinds of ‘intellectual crisis of faith’ that many confront in their teenage years—whether because of exposure to evolutionary teaching, or to other religions.

Knowing that the Word of God accurately explains our world ahead of all opposing ideas not only strengthens our own faith, but gives us the confidence to reach out in love to challengers—including Muslims.

Using Genesis to reach Muslims?

Just as the Apostle Paul used Athenian beliefs to draw his Greek listeners to the truth of the Gospel (Acts 17:22–23, 28), Christians could use a similar approach when talking with Muslims. One could start by reminding the Muslim that the Koran says that the Scriptures of Jews and Christians were given by God, e.g. Koran 2:87—‘We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of Apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.’ Similarly, in Koran 6:91, the Book given to Moses is described as ‘a light and guidance to man …’ .

So why so many irreconcilable differences between Genesis 1–11 and the Koran? A Muslim might say that today’s copies of the Bible have been corrupted. But the earliest Biblical manuscripts (e.g. in the British Museum¹⁴) date from before Muhammad, demonstrating the reliability of our current copies.

A further challenge for the Muslim would concern the presence of death, suffering, grief, etc., in the world. Consider the following exchange between American TV host Larry King and Georgetown University’s Islamic professor of theology, Maysam Al-Faruqi:

KING: Maysam, if you believe in heaven and paradise, then dying is good?

AL-FARUQI: Absolutely. And dying is perfectly natural, it’s the end of things.

KING: Why do we treat it tragically? … …

AL-FARUQI: Well, there is the pain …¹⁵

So in this Muslim (also theistic evolutionary) view of death as ‘perfectly natural’, why grieve and wail at the death of a loved one? The Islamic professor’s answer, ‘Well, there is the pain …’ begs the question: ‘So pain and suffering are a “natural”? part of God’s good (Koran 32:7) creation, too?’ Clearly, Muslims have no satisfactory answer.

But the Bible explains that death, violence, pain and decay entered a once-perfect Creation as a result of Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17, 3:19; Romans 5:12–17; 8:19–22; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22). Thankfully, this situation is only temporary, as God gave his Son, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, that those who believe in Him can look forward to the coming restoration, to a world with ‘no more death, mourning, crying or pain’, i.e. no more Genesis Curse (John 1:18, 3:16; Acts 3:21; Revelation 21:4, 22:3).
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Key differences between the Bible and the Koran

Table 1. Creation
The Bible Says:	The Koran says:
Man was created on Earth, in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8).	Man was created in Paradise (‘janna’),1 not on Earth (first couple later banished to Earth, e.g. Koran 2:36).
The Bible describes clearly what was made on each day of Creation Week. The ‘Big Bang’ is excluded by this sequence (E.g. Earth before Sun).	No clear details of each creation day. Some vague clustering of the days in 41:9–12.2
Creation in 6 Days which are clearly Earth-rotation days (c. 24 hours).	Creation also in 6 ‘Days’2 but could easily be interpreted as ‘millions of years’ (see main text).
Man and the animals were created vegetarian (Genesis 1:29–30). No death and suffering in the original creation.	Carnivory (and thus death and suffering) apparently integral to life on the created Earth from the first. The Koran (6:142, 16:5, 40:79) says that cattle were created for man to eat.
Man was created naked (but not ashamed—Genesis 2:25).	The Koran speaks of Adam’s (and his wife’s) nakedness becoming apparent to them after they sinned (20:121; also implied by 7:22), yet also implies that they were wearing some kind of raiment prior to the Fall (Koran 7:273).
All things were created through Christ and for Christ. He was pre-existent to Creation (e.g. Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Micah 5:2; John 1:1–3, 10; 3:13; 6:62; 8:35, 58; 17:5, 24; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:2).	Jesus Christ was a created being. Koran 3:59 ‘The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; he created him from dust … .’
References and notes for Table 1 Muslims previously never questioned that the Koranic janna (‘paradise’) in which man was created was not on Earth. But evolutionary pressure has led to many (not all) Muslim scholars today claiming that the Koranic pre-Fall garden was on Earth. Some critics quote 41:9–12 as giving a contradictory total of eight days, but Muslim apologists explain this away by making two days concurrent: Koran 41:9–12 ‘Say: “Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? … He set on the (earth) mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth … in four Days … So he completed them as seven firmaments in two Days’. ‘O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as he got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame … .’

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Table 2. Corruption (The Fall of man)
The Bible Says:	The Koran says:
Prior to sin, Adam and Eve given free access to fruit of the ‘Tree of Life’ (Genesis 2:9, 16–17).	The ‘Tree of Eternity’ (equated with giving eternal life in 7:20, hence comparable to the Biblical Tree of Life) was the Forbidden Tree (20:120).
Forbidden tree clearly identified as ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’. ‘And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”?’ (Genesis 2:16–17)	No mention of the name ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’. Koran 7:19 ‘O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: But approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.’ (Also 2:34).
Snake/serpent in Eden (Genesis 3).	No mention of snake or serpent in the Koran (except for a reference to Moses’ stick-to-snake transformation).
The serpent enticed Eve, denying she would die. (Genesis 3: 1–5) ‘“You will not surely die,”? the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”?’	Satan enticed Adam and his wife. Koran 20:120 ‘But Satan whispered evil to him: He said, “O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity1 and to a kingdom that never decays?”?’ Koran 7:20–21 ‘Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them … He said: “Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live forever.”?’
‘The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve, and clothed them.’ (Genesis 3:21)	‘Raiment’ mentioned, but no mention of skin (Koran 7:26).
After the Fall, Adam and Eve still on Earth, but barred from Eden (Genesis 3:23–24).	Adam and Eve were shifted from Paradise (not on Earth) down to Earth (7:24, also 2:36).
After the Fall, man will now eat ‘through painful toil’ and (as a result of the Curse on the land) ‘by the sweat of your brow’ (Genesis 3:17, 19).	Toil and sweat were an integral part of the original created Earth. Koran 90:4 ‘Verily We have created man to toil and struggle.’
Death is an ‘enemy’, that entered after Adam sinned. (Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Romans 5:12, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, 26).	No reference in the Koran to death being an ‘enemy’, or anything other than an integral part of the original created Earth.
Ground now ‘cursed’; the whole creation now ‘groaning’, in ‘bondage to decay’. (Genesis 3:17 ; Romans 8:20–22; Revelation 22:3).	Apparently, the ‘bad things’ are not a consequence of the Fall, but integral to the original Creation.
Reference for Table 2 One Muslim commentator, clearly confused about the Genesis account, writes that this tree is designated in the Bible as ‘the tree of life’ and the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’. Muhammad Asad, The Message of The Qur’an, Dar al-Andalus Ltd, Gibraltar, p. 484 (footnote 106), 1984.

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Table 3. Catastrophe (Noah’s Flood)
The Bible Says:	The Koran says:
Noah was the tenth generation from Adam (Genesis 5:3–32; Luke 3:36–38). Other Biblical genealogies allow us to date the Flood to around 4,300 years ago.	No clear genealogies are given.
Ark was sealed with ‘pitch’ (possibly tree resin1—Genesis 6:14).	Ark caulked with palm fibre (Koran 54:13–14).
Bible gives Ark dimensions (Genesis 6:14–16).	No mention of Ark size.
Duration of rain (40 days/nights), time afloat (150 days), total duration (370 days) of Flood (Genesis 7:12, 24; 8:4, 14).	No mention of any time periods for the Flood.
Eight people survived the Flood (1 Peter 3:20), i.e. all of Noah’s family (Genesis 7:1, 7).	The number on board is not mentioned. The Koran claims one of Noah’s sons was drowned (11:42–43), and puts a question mark over whether Noah’s wife survived (66:10, 11:40).2
Man granted permission to eat meat after the Flood (Genesis 9:3).	Man ate meat on Earth from the beginning (6:142, 16:5, 40:79).
‘I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.’ (Genesis 9:11–17)	There is no mention of the rainbow, or its significance, anywhere in the Koran.
References for Table 3 Walker, T.B., The pitch for Noah’s Ark, Creation 7(1):20, 1984. Muhammad Asad, The Message of The Qur’ân, Dar al-Andalus Ltd, Gibraltar, p. 877 (footnote 21), 1984.

Table 4. Confusion (Origin of languages)
The Bible Says:	The Koran says:
Before God confused the tongues at Babel, the whole world had one language and a common speech (Genesis 11:1–9).	No mention of there ever being a single common language, or of the Tower of Babel.
After being scattered from Babel, people congregated into clans and nations, each with their own languages (Genesis 10:5, 20, 31).	Regarding the different languages, the Koran (30:22) says: ‘And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors …’

A very different deity

To list all instances where the Koran contradicts the Bible would take very many pages. But the following examples suffice to show how Koranic teaching is utterly incompatible with the Bible:

• The Bible says that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12), while the Koran says that only through Islam (obedience to Allah and his prophet Muhammad) can one avoid the ‘Blazing Fire’ (Koran 3:85; 48:13).
• The Koran denies Christ’s death and Resurrection. Various passages in the Koran (e.g. 4:155–159) say that Allah made it appear to the Jews as if Jesus was crucified—in the meantime, Allah took Jesus up to Heaven.
• While the Bible says that as descendants of Adam, all are born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23), the Muslim view is that man is born innocent.¹ The Koran refers to sin as ‘earned’ (4:111, 6:120, 24:11).
• The Koran denies that God is Triune (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).² (Muslims do not address God as ‘Father’, believing that no man can be a ‘son’ of God.) ‘… and the Christians call Christ the Son of Allah. … Allah’s curse be on them: How they are deluded away from the Truth!’ (9:30–31).
• While the Bible says that it is by grace that we are saved through faith alone, ‘not by works lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8–9), the Koran (23:102–103) tells a very different story: ‘Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, —they will attain salvation: But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in Hell will they abide.’
• While the Bible calls Christians to ‘go and make disciples of all nations …’ (Matt. 28:19), this is to be done ‘with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15)—Christians do not use the weapons of the world to preach the Gospel (2 Corinthians 10:3–5). But for Muslims, a very different approach is prescribed in the Koran. E.g. ‘… then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them …’ (9:5). And, ‘… I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: Smite ye above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them.’ (8:12)
• While the Bible instructs a husband never to be harsh with his wife and to sacrificially love her ‘as Christ loved the church’, and not to deprive one another (1 Corinthians 7:5; Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19); the Koran (4:34) says: ‘As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them … .’
• The Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). The Koran does not.

References and notes

1. E.g. a Muslim Web site expounding this view: Al-Kahtany, A.H., The truth about the original sin, www.al-sunnah.com/truth.htm, 1 November 2001.
2. For an interesting account of how a Christian fluent in Arabic and familiar with Islamic thought managed to engage an Egyptian Muslim in conversation about the basis for a Triune God, see: The spirit of Islam, www.thespiritofislam.com/text/Q47.html, 9 November 2001.

In conclusion

Muslims claim to respect Jesus and other Biblical figures, which has caused many to think Islam may be an ‘additional’ revelation from the Creator, building on a Biblical foundation. However, the differences between the Koran and the Bible are massive, beginning with the foundational history in Genesis, upon which the Gospel is squarely based. This evidence is consistent with the Christian claim that the Bible is the Creator’s truthful, sole revelation, and that the Koran, despite some superficial resemblances, is a radical departure from its teaching.

The Bible teaches of a God of love for whom death and suffering were not a part of His original creation; sin caused the world to fall from original perfection. By contrast, and in common with theistic evolutionary corruptions of Bible doctrine, the Koranic view of death and suffering has them as intrinsic to creation, a natural part of the way things are. Not surprisingly, therefore, the worldview of Islam leads to a radically different understanding of the nature of God, humanity, salvation and the world in general. This must affect not merely the stance of individuals, but entire cultures.

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